According to the United States Census, a housing unit is a house, an apartment, a mobile home or trailer, a group of rooms, or a single room that is occupied (or if vacant, is intended for occupancy) as separate living quarters. Separate living quarters are those in which the occupants live and eat separately from any other persons in the building and which have direct access from the outside of the building or through a common hall.

What this chart shows: Total Number of Housing Units in Larimer County, 2002-2011

What this chart shows: Percentage Change in Housing Units versus Population in Colorado, Larimer County and Select Communities, 2002 vs. 2011

What the above data tell us:

In comparing the percentage change in housing units and population between 2002 and 2011, housing units grew consistently faster than population in Colorado, Larimer County, and the Larimer County communities shown above. In 2011, there were 133,572 housing units in Larimer County, with an estimated household population of 296,768. This means there were approximately 2.4 people per housing unit in Larimer County. In 2002, there were 113,808 housing units, with an estimated household population of 259,051 or 2.5 people per housing unit.

From 2002 through 2006, the year-over-year percentage in housing unit growth within Larimer County exceeded population growth. That trend reversed itself beginning in 2007 and continued through 2011. Since 2007, population growth has exceeded housing unit growth by between 0.3% and 1.1% per year. (See the data table below.)

Of the Larimer County communities depicted in the graph above, Estes Park had the highest percentage in housing versus population growth, with housing units increasing 15.2%, and population increasing 5.8% between 2002 and 2011.

(See the data table for additional information on smaller Larimer County communities).

What this chart shows: Number of Persons per Household in Larimer County, 2002-2011